Batch-type remote plasma processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A plasma processing apparatus comprises a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates are stacked and accommodated; a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking direction of the plurality of substrates, which are disposed at one side of the plurality of substrates in said processing chamber, and to which high frequency electricity is applied; and a gas supply member which supplies processing gas into a space between the pair of electrodes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus,and more particularly, to a batch-type remote plasma processingapparatus, e.g., to an apparatus which is effectively utilized fordepositing an insulative film or a metal film on a semiconductor wafer(wafer, hereinafter) on which a semiconductor integrated circuitincluding semiconductor elements is formed in producing a semiconductordevice.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] As a conventional batch-type remote plasma processing apparatus,a single wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVD apparatus has been used.However, in the single wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVD apparatus,since wafers are processed one by one, there has been a problem thatthroughput is small.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention toprovide a plasma processing apparatus capable of obtaining greatthroughput.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plasma processing apparatus, comprising:

[0007] a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated,

[0008] a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking direction of theplurality of substrates, the electrodes being disposed at one side ofthe plurality of substrates in the processing chamber, and highfrequency electricity being applied to the electrodes, and

[0009] a gas supply member which supplies processing gas into a spacebetween the pair of electrodes.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plasma processing apparatus, comprising:

[0011] a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated,

[0012] a pair of electrodes which is disposed inside and outside of theprocessing chamber such as to be opposed to each other at one side ofthe plurality of substrates, and to which high frequency electricity isapplied, and

[0013] a gas supplying pipe which supplies processing gas into theprocessing chamber to a place which is away from the space between thepair of electrodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The above and further objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

[0015]FIG. 1 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line II-IIof FIG. 1;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line III-IIIof FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line V-V ofFIG. 4;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line VII-VIIof FIG. 6;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a lineVIII-VIII of FIG. 6;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 10 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line X-X ofFIG. 9;

[0026]FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a line XI-XIof FIG. 9;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a transversal sectional view of a CVD apparatusaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a lineXIII-XIII of FIG. 12; and

[0029]FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a lineXIV-XIV of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] In order to form a capacitance portion (insulative film) of acapacitor of a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) which is one exampleof a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus, studies are carried outfor using a tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅). Since Ta₂O₅ has high dielectricconstant, it is suitable for obtaining great capacitance with a finearea. In a producing method of the DRAM, it is desired to form a Ta₂O₅film by an MOCVC apparatus in view of productivity, quality of film andthe like.

[0031] It is know that if the Ta₂O₁ film is formed by the MOCVDapparatus, carbon (C) which may generate leak current adheres to asurface of the Ta₂O₅ film or in the vicinity of the surface. Therefore,after the Ta₂O₅ film is formed on a wafer, it is necessary to eliminatecarbon existing in the vicinity of the surface of the Ta₂O₅ film. Asingle wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVD apparatus can lower aheating temperature of a wafer to 300 to 400° C. while preventing plasmadamage of a wafer. Therefore, studies are carried out for eliminatingthe carbon on a Ta₂O₅ film by the single wafer-feeding type remoteplasma CVD apparatus.

[0032] In the single wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVD apparatus,however, since carbon of the Ta₂O₅ film is eliminated one by one, thereis a problem that throughput becomes small. For example, if netprocessing time in a single wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVDapparatus is ten minutes and operation time of a transfer system is twominutes, the processing number of wafers per one hour is as small asfive.

[0033] A general single wafer-feeding type remote plasma CVD apparatusis of a cold wall type in which only a susceptor is heated to aprocessing temperature. Therefore, in such a single wafer-feeding typeremote plasma CVD apparatus, there are problems that it is difficult touniformly heat the entire surface of a wafer, and it is difficult toheat the wafer to 400° C. or higher due to a problem of selection ofmaterial of a chamber. Further, when a heater is embedded into asusceptor and a wafer is heated, since heat is not uniformly transferredto the wafer due to warpage of the wafer or roughness of a surface ofthe wafer, it is difficult to heat the wafer to 500° C.±1%. Therefore,it is conceived to use a heater having an electrostatic fastener, butthe heater having an electrostatic fastener is extremely expensive, andthe reliability is low with respect to its price.

[0034] It is, therefore, a main object of preferred embodiment of thepresent invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus capable ofobtaining great throughput, and capable of enhancing uniformity of atemperature of a substrate to be processed.

[0035] A plasma processing apparatus according to one preferred aspectof the present invention, comprises:

[0036] a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated, and

[0037] a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking direction of theplurality of substrates, the electrodes being disposed at one side ofsaid plurality of substrates in the processing chamber, and highfrequency electricity being applied to the electrodes, wherein

[0038] the processing apparatus is constituted such that processing gasis supplied into a space between the pair of electrodes.

[0039] A plasma processing apparatus according to another aspect of thepresent invention, comprises:

[0040] a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated, and

[0041] a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking direction of theprurality of substrates, the electrodes being disposed inside andoutside of the processing chamber and at one side of the plurality ofsubstrates, and high frequency electricity being applied to saidelectrodes, wherein

[0042] the processing apparatus is constituted such that processing gasis supplied into a space between the pair of electrodes.

[0043] A plasma processing apparatus according to still another aspectof the present invention, comprises:

[0044] a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated,

[0045] a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking direction of theplurality of substrates, said electrodes being disposed at one side ofthe plurality of substrates, and high frequency electricity beingapplied to the electrodes, and

[0046] an electrical discharging chamber which is separated from theprocessing chamber and which includes a space between the pair ofelectrodes, wherein

[0047] a gas blowout opening for supplying the processing gas into theprocessing chamber is provided in the electrical discharging chamber.

[0048] In the above-mentioned batch-type remote plasma processingapparatuses according to each aspect of the present invention, when highfrequency electricity is applied between the pair of electrodes, plasmais generated between the pair of electrodes. When the processing gas issupplied into this plasma atmosphere, active particles are formed, andif the active particles are supplied to the plurality of substrateswhich were transferred into a process tube, the plurality of substratesare collectively subjected to plasma processing.

[0049] Since the plurality of substrates to be processed arecollectively batch-processed, it is possible to largely enhance thethroughput as compared with a case in which the substrates to beprocessed are processed one by one (single substrate-processing).Further, the entire surface of each substrate can be heated uniformly byheating the plurality of substrates accommodated in the processingchamber by a hot-wall type heater. Therefore, processing of substrate byplasma can be carried out uniformly.

[0050] Next, preferred embodiments according to the present inventionwill be explained in detail.

[0051] (First Embodiment)

[0052] In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a batch-type remoteplasma processing apparatus of the invention is formed as a batch-typevertical hot wall type remote plasma CVD apparatus (CVD apparatus,hereinafter). That is, a CVD apparatus 10 is made of material havinghigh heat resistance such as quartz glass or the like. The CVD apparatus10 is provided with a cylindrical process tube 11. One end of theprocess tube 11 is opened and the other end thereof is closed. Theprocess tube 11 is vertically fixedly supported such that a center lineof the tube 11 is vertically directed. A cylindrical hollow portion ofthe process tube 11 forms a processing chamber 12 in which a pluralityof wafers 1 are accommodated. A lower end opening of the process tube 11is formed into a furnace opening 13 through which the wafer 1 as asubject to be processed is loaded and unloaded. An inner diameter of theprocess tube 11 is set greater than a maximum outer diameter of thewafer 1 to be handled.

[0053] Heaters 14 for uniformly heating the entire processing chamber 12are concentrically provided around the process tube 11 such as tosurround the process tube 11. The heaters 14 are supported by a machineframe (not shown) of the CVD apparatus 10 such that the heaters 14 aremounted vertically.

[0054] A manifold 15 abuts against a lower end surface of the processtube 11. The manifold 15 is made of metal. The manifold 15 is formedinto a cylindrical shape which is provided at its upper and lower endswith flanges. The flanges project outward in a diametrical direction ofthe manifold 15. The manifold 15 is detachably mounted to the processtube 11 for maintenance operation and cleaning operation for the processtube 11. The manifold 15 is supported by a machine frame (not shown) ofthe CVD apparatus 10 and the process tube 11 is mounted vertically.

[0055] One end of an exhaust pipe 16 is connected to a portion of asidewall of the manifold 15. The other end of the exhaust pipe 16 isconnected to an exhaust apparatus (not shown) so that the processingchamber 12 can be evacuated. A seal cap 17 which closes a lower endopening of the manifold 15 abuts against the lower end opening of themanifold 15 from vertically lower side through a seal ring 18. The sealcap 17 is formed into a disc-like shape having substantially the sameouter diameter as that of the manifold 15. The seal cap 17 is moved upand down in the vertical direction by an elevator (not shown) which isvertically provided outside the process tube 11. A rotation shaft 19passes through a center line of the seal cap 17. The rotation shaft 19is moved up and down together with the seal cap 17, and is rotated by arotating driving apparatus (not shown). A boat 2 which holds the wafers1 as subjects to be processed is vertically supported on an upper end ofthe rotation shaft 19 such as to stand thereon.

[0056] The boat 2 comprises a pair of upper and lower end plates 3 and4, and a plurality of (three, in this embodiment) holding members 5vertically disposed between the end plates 3 and 4. Each the holdingmember 5 is provided with a large number of holding grooves 6 which aredisposed in the longitudinal direction at equal distances from oneanother. Outer peripheral edge sides of the wafers 1 are respectivelyinserted into the large number of holding grooves 6 of the holdingmember 5. With this design, the wafers 1 are arranged and heldhorizontally with respect to the boat 2 such that centers of the wafers1 are aligned to each other. A thermal insulation cap 7 is formed on alower surface of the lower end plate 4 of the boat 2. A lower endsurface of the thermal insulation cap 7 is supported by the rotationshaft 19.

[0057] A gas supply pipe 21 for supplying processing gas verticallystands on a position in the vicinity of an inner peripheral surface ofthe process tube 11 different from a position of the exhaust pipe 16 (ata position on the opposite side from the exhaust pipe 16 through 180° inthe illustrated example). The gas supply pipe 21 is made of dielectricmaterial, and is formed into a thin and long circular pipe. A lower endof the gas supply pipe 21 is bent into an elbow shape at right angles toform a gas introducing portion 22. The gas introducing portion 22 passesthrough a sidewall of the manifold 15 outward in the diametricaldirection, and projects outside. A plurality of blowout openings 23 areopened in the gas supply pipe 21 and arranged in the vertical direction.The number of blowout openings 23 corresponds to the number of wafers 1to be processed. In this embodiment, the number of blowout openings 23coincides with the number of wafers 1 to be processed, and a height ofeach blowout opening 23 is set such that each blowout opening 23 isopposed to a space between vertically adjacent wafers 1 held by theboat.

[0058] A pair of support cylinders 24 and 24 project outward in thediametrical direction on opposite sides of the gas introducing portion22 of the gas supply pipe 21 in the manifold 15 in the circumferentialdirection. Holder portions 26 and 26 of a pair of protect pipes 25 and25 are supported such that the holder portions 26 and 26 pass throughthe support cylinders 24 and 24 in the diametrical direction. Each theprotect pipe 25 is made of dielectric material, and is formed into athin and long circular pipe shape whose upper end is closed. Upper andlower ends of the protect pipes 25 are vertically aligned to the gassupply pipe 21. A lower end of each the protect pipe 25 is bent into anelbow shape at right angles to form a the holder portion 26. The holderportion 26 passes through the support cylinder 24 of the manifold 15outward in the diametrical direction and projects outside. A hollowportion of each the protect pipe 25 is brought into communication withoutside (atmospheric pressure) of the processing chamber 12.

[0059] A pair of thin and long rod-like electrodes 27 and 27 made ofconductive material are concentrically disposed in the hollow portionsof the protect pipes 25 and 25. A portion-to-be-held 28 which is a lowerend of each the electrode 27 is held by the holder portion 26 through ainsulative cylinder 29 and a shield cylinder 30 which prevent electricdischarge. A high frequency power source 31 is electrically connectedbetween both the electrodes 27 and 27 through a matching device 32. Thehigh frequency power source 31 applies high frequency electricity.

[0060] Next, a method for eliminating carbon existing in the vicinity ofa surface of a Ta₂O₅ film for a capacitance portion of a capacitor ofthe DRAM using the CVD apparatus 10 having the above structure will beexplained. That is, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the wafer 1to be supplied to the CVD apparatus 10 is coated with a Ta₂O₅ film (notshown) for forming the capacitance portion of the capacitor by aprevious MOCVD step, carbon (not shown) exists in the vicinity of asurface of the Ta₂O₅ film, and the carbon is to be eliminated by the CVDapparatus 10.

[0061] A plurality of wafers 1 as substrates to be processed of the CVDapparatus 10 are charged to the boat 2 by a wafer transfer apparatus(not shown). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the boat 2 into which theplurality of wafers 1 are charged is moved upward by the elevatortogether with the seal cap 17 and the rotation shaft 19, and is loaded(boat-loaded) into the processing chamber 12 of the process tube 11.

[0062] If the boat 2 holding the group of wafers 1 is loaded into theprocessing chamber 12, the processing chamber 12 is evacuated into apredetermined pressure or lower by an exhaust apparatus connected to theexhaust pipe 16, and a temperature of the processing chamber 12 isincreased to a predetermined temperature by increasing electricitysupplied to the heaters 14. Since the heater 14 is of the hot wall typestructure, a temperature of the processing chamber 12 is uniformlymaintained entirely and as a result, a temperature distribution of thegroup of wafers 1 held by the boat 2 also becomes uniform over theentire length, and a temperature distribution over the entire surface ofeach the wafer 1 also becomes uniform.

[0063] After a temperature of the processing chamber 12 reaches a presetvalue and is stabilized, oxygen (O₂) gas is introduced as processing gas41, and if a pressure thereof reaches a preset value, the boat 2 isrotated by the rotation shaft 19 and in this state, high frequencyelectricity is applied between the pair of electrodes 27 and 27 by thehigh frequency power source 31 and the matching device 32. The oxygengas which is the processing gas 41 is supplied to the gas supply pipe21, and if the high frequency electricity is applied between both theelectrodes 27 and 27, plasma 40 is formed in the gas supply pipe 21 asshown in FIG. 2, and reaction of the processing gas 41 becomes active.

[0064] As shown with broken arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2, activated particles(oxygen radical) 42 of the processing gas 41 are emitted from theblowout openings 23 of the gas supply pipe 21 into the processingchamber 12.

[0065] The activated particles (active particles, hereinafter) 42 areemitted from the blowout openings 23, and flow between the opposedwafers 1 and 1 and come into contact with the wafers 1. Therefore, thecontact distribution of the active particles 42 with respect to theentire group of wafers 1 becomes uniform over the entire length of theboat 2, and a contact distribution of the entire surface of each thewafer 1 in its diametrical direction which corresponds to a flowingdirection of the active particles also becomes uniform. At that time,since the wafer 1 is rotated by rotation of the boat 2, a contactdistribution of the entire surface of the wafer of the active particles42 which flow between the wafers 1 and 1 also becomes uniform in thecircumferential direction.

[0066] The active particles (oxygen radical) 42 which came into contactwith the wafers 1 thermally reacts with carbon which exists in thevicinity of a surface of the Ta₂O₅ film to generate CO (carbonmonoxide), thereby eliminating carbon from the Ta₂O₅ film. At that time,as described above, the temperature distribution of the wafers 1 ismaintained uniform over the entire length of the boat 2 and over theentire surface of the wafer, and the contact distribution of the activeparticles 42 with the wafers 1 is uniform over the all positions of theboat 2 and the entire surface of the wafer. Therefore, the eliminatingeffect of carbon on the wafers 1 by the thermal reaction of the activeparticles 42 becomes uniform over the all positions of the boat 2 andthe entire surface of the wafer.

[0067] Processing conditions for eliminating carbon from the Ta₂O₅ filmto form a capacitance portion of capacitor of the DRAM are as follows: asupply flow rate of oxygen gas used as the processing gas is 8.45×10⁻¹to 3.38 Pa·m³/s, a pressure in the processing chamber is 10 to 100 Pa,and a temperature thereof is 500 to 700° C.

[0068] If a preset processing time is elapsed, after supply ofprocessing gas 41, rotation of rotation shaft 19, application of highfrequency electricity, heating of heaters 14, and evacuation of theexhaust pipe 16 are stopped, if the seal cap 17 is lowered, the furnaceopening 13 is opened, and the group of wafers 1 is transferred out fromthe processing chamber 12 from the furnace opening 13 (the boat isunloaded).

[0069] The group of wafers 1 transferred outside of the processingchamber 12 is discharged (unloaded) from the boat 2 by the wafertransfer apparatus. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated, therebycollectively batch processing the plurality of wafers 1.

[0070] According to the above embodiment, the following effects can beobtained.

[0071]1) The plurality of wafers are collectively batch processed.Therefore, it is possible to largely enhance the throughput as comparedwith a case in which the substrates to be processed are processed one byone. For example, the number of substrates which are processed per onehour when the substrates are processed one by one is five if theprocessing time is 10 minutes and the operation time of a transfersystem is two minutes. Whereas, the number of substrates which are batchprocessed per one hour is 66.7 if the processing time is 30 minutes andthe operation time of a transfer system is 60 minutes.

[0072]2) By heating the plurality of wafers which were held by the boatand transferred into the processing chamber by means of the hot walltype heaters, it is possible to uniformly distribute a temperature ofthe wafers over the entire length of the boat and over the entiresurface of each wafer. Therefore, it is possible to uniform theprocessing state of wafers by the active particles which are formed byactivating the processing gas by plasma, i.e., the eliminatingdistribution of carbon on the Ta₂O₅ film.

[0073]3) By disposing the pair of thin and long electrodes in theprocessing chamber such that the electrodes are opposed to each other,it is possible to form plasma over the entire length of both theelectrodes. Therefore, it is possible to more uniformly supply theactive particles which are formed by activating the processing gas byplasma, over the entire length of the group of wafers held by the boat.

[0074]4) By disposing the gas supplying pipe in the space between thepair of thin and long electrodes to which the processing gas issupplied, it is possible to activate the processing gas by plasma in thegas supplying pipe. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wafer frombeing damaged by plasma, and it is possible to prevent the yield ofwafers from being deteriorated by the plasma damage.

[0075]5) The blowout opening is formed in the gas supplying pipe suchthat the blowout opening is opposed to a space between the upper andlower wafers held by the boat. With this structure, the active particlesare allowed to flow between the wafers. Therefore, it is possible touniform the contact distribution of the active particles with respect tothe group of wafers over the entire length of the boat. As a result, itis possible to further uniform the processing state by the activeparticles.

[0076]6) By rotating the boat which holds the plurality of wafers, thecontact distribution of the active particles which flowed between thewafers can be uniformed over the entire surface of the wafer in thecircumferential direction. Therefore, it is possible to further uniformthe processing state by the active particles.

[0077]7) By eliminating the carbon of the Ta₂O₅ film used for thecapacitance portion of the capacitor of the DRAM, it is possible toreduce the leak current between the electrodes of the capacitor.Therefore, it is possible to enhance the performance of the DRAM.

[0078] (Second Embodiment)

[0079] A CVD apparatus of the second embodiment of the present inventionwill be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0080] The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment inthat a pair of electrodes 27A and 27B are disposed inside and outside ofthe process tube 11, and a gas supply pipe 21A is located at a positionother than a space to which the electrodes 27A and 27B are opposed.

[0081] In this embodiment, the high frequency electricity is appliedbetween the inner electrode 27A and the outer electrode 27B by the highfrequency power source 31 and the matching device 32, and if processinggas 41 is supplied to the processing chamber 12 by the gas supply pipe21A, plasma 40 is formed between a sidewall of the process tube 11 andthe inner electrode 27A, and the processing gas 41 is brought into areaction active state. The active particles 42 are dispersed over theentire processing chamber 12 so that the active particles 42 come intocontact with each wafer 1. The active particles 42 which came intocontact with the wafer 1 eliminate carbon which exists on the Ta₂O₅ filmof the wafer 1 by thermal reaction.

[0082] (Third Embodiment)

[0083] A CVD apparatus of the third embodiment of the present inventionwill be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

[0084] In the third embodiment, a pair of protect pipes 25 and 25provided vertically along an inner wall surface of the process tube 11are bent at lower portions thereof and pass through a side surface ofthe process tube 11. A pair of electrodes 27 and 27 are inserted throughboth the protect pipes 25 and 25 from a lower portion of the sidesurface of the process tube 11. A guttering-like partition 34 forming aplasma chamber 33 is disposed around an inner peripheral of the processtube 11 such as to air-tightly surround both the protect pipes 25 and25. A plurality of blowout openings 35 are arranged in the partition 34such as to be opposed to a space between the upper and lower wafers 1and 1. A gas supply pipe 21 is provided at a position of a lower portionof a side surface of the process tube 11 where gas can be supplied tothe plasma chamber 33.

[0085] After the processing gas 41 is supplied to the plasma chamber 33and a pressure of the gas is maintained at a predetermined value, if thehigh frequency electricity is applied between both the electrodes 27 and27 by the high frequency power source 31 and the matching device 32,plasma 40 is formed in the plasma chamber 33 and the processing gas 41is activated. Activated electrically neutral particles 42 are emittedfrom the blowout openings 35 which are opened at the partition 34 andare supplied to the processing chamber 12, and the particles come intocontact with each wafer 1 held by the boat 2. The active particles 42which came into contact with wafer 1 processes a surface of the wafer 1.

[0086] (Fourth Embodiment)

[0087] A CVD apparatus of the fourth embodiment of the present inventionwill be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

[0088] This embodiment is different from the third embodiment in thatthe pair of electrodes 27 and 27 and their protect pipes 25 are locatedcloser to the partition 34 provided with blowout openings 35 than theprocess tube 11.

[0089] If the protect pipes 25 are located closer to the partition 34than the process tube 11 in this manner, it is possible to limit the gasflow between the protect pipe 25 and the partition 34. As a result, mostof processing gas pass between the two protect pipes 25, i.e., passthrough a space having great plasma density.

[0090] (Fifth Embodiment)

[0091] A CVD apparatus of the fifth embodiment of the present inventionwill be explained with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.

[0092] A CVD apparatus of this embodiment includes a pair of thin andlong flat plate-like electrodes 27C and 27C which are shorter than theprocess tube 11. Both the electrodes 27C and 27C are inserted, fromoutside of the process tube 11, into a pair of electrode insertionopenings 36 and 36 which extend in the vertical direction in a state inwhich the electrodes 27C and 27C are in parallel to a portion of thesidewall of the process tube 11 and upper and lower ends of theelectrodes 27C and 27C are aligned to each other. A protect pipes 25Cand 25C project from an inner peripheral surface of the process tube 11such as to be opposed to the pair of electrode insertion openings 36 and36, respectively. Inserting ends of the electrodes 27C and 27C areinserted into the pair of protect pipes 25C and 25C and surrounded. Adistance between the electrode insertion opening and protect pipe 25C isset slightly greater than a thickness of the electrode 27C so that theelectrode 27C is exposed to atmospheric pressure. Connecting portions28C and 28C respectively project from lower ends of the electrodes 27Cand 27C. The high frequency power source 31 for applying high frequencyelectricity is electrically connected to the connecting portions 28C and28C through the matching device 32. A flat plate-like partition 34Cwhich forms a plasma chamber 33C in cooperation with both the protectpipes 25C and 25C is provided between both the protect pipes 25C and25C. A plurality of blowout openings 35C are arranged in the partition34C such as to be opposed to the upper and lower wafers 1 and 1.Processing gas 41 is supplied from the gas supply pipe 21 into theplasma chamber 33C.

[0093] After the processing gas 41 is supplied to the plasma chamber 33Cby the gas supply pipe 21 and a pressure of the gas is maintained at apredetermined value, if the high frequency electricity is appliedbetween both the electrodes 27C and 27C by the high frequency powersource 31 and the matching device 32, plasma 40 is formed in the plasmachamber 33C and the processing gas 41 is activated. The activatedparticles 42 are emitted from the blowout openings 35C which are openedat the partition 34C and are supplied to the processing chamber 12, andthe particles come into contact with each wafer 1 held by the boat 2.The active particles 42 which came into contact with wafer 1 processes asurface of the wafer 1.

[0094] (Sixth Embodiment)

[0095] A CVD apparatus of the sixth embodiment of the present inventionwill be explained with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15.

[0096] A CVD apparatus of this embodiment includes a discharge tube 38forming a plasma chamber 37. The discharge tube 38 is made of dielectricmaterial, and is formed into a substantially triangular prism shapewhich is shorter than the process tube 11. The discharge tube 38 extendsin the vertical direction along a portion of an outer periphery of asidewall of the process tube 11. A plurality of blowout openings 39 arearranged in the sidewall of the process tube 11 surrounded by thedischarge tube 38 such as to be opposed to the space between the upperand lower wafers 1 and 1. The processing gas 41 is supplied from the gassupply pipe 21 to the plasma chamber 37 of the discharge tube 38. A pairof thin and long flat plate-like electrodes 27D and 27D which areshorter than the discharge tube 38 are provided on opposite sides of thedischarge tube 38 in its circumferential direction in a state in whichthe electrodes 27D and 27D are exposed to the atmospheric pressure. Thehigh frequency power source 31 which applies high frequency electricityis electrically connected to connecting portions 28D and 28Drespectively formed on the electrodes 27D and 27D through the matchingdevice 32.

[0097] After the processing gas 41 is supplied to the plasma chamber 37by the gas supply pipe 21 and a pressure of the gas is maintained at apredetermined value, if the high frequency electricity is appliedbetween both the electrodes 27D and 27D by the high frequency powersource 31 and the matching device 32, plasma 40 is formed in the plasmachamber 37 and the processing gas 41 is activated. The activatedparticles 42 are emitted from the blowout openings 35C which are incommunication with the discharge tube 38 and are supplied to theprocessing chamber 12, and the particles come into contact with eachwafer 1 held by the boat 2. The active particles 42 which came intocontact with wafer 1 processes a surface of the wafer 1.

[0098] The above-described batch-type remote plasma processingapparatuses according to the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention are preferably used for a substrate processing method forprocessing a substrate, a film forming method and a semiconductor devicemanufacturing method.

[0099] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments andcan be variously modified of course.

[0100] For example, the number of blowout openings of the gas supplyingpipe is not necessarily the same as the number of wafers to beprocessed, and may be increased or decreased in correspondence with thenumber of wafers to be processed. For example, the blowout opening isnot necessarily opposed to the space of the upper and lower adjacentwafers, and two or three blowout openings may be disposed between theadjacent wafers.

[0101] Although carbon existing on the Ta₂O₅ film of the capacitanceportion of the capacitor was eliminated in the above embodiment, thebatch-type remote plasma processing apparatus of the present inventioncan also be applied to a case in which a foreign matter existing onanother film (molecule, atom or the like on other films) is to beeliminated, a case in which a CVD film is formed on a wafer, a case inwhich thermal processing is carried out, and the like.

[0102] For example, in a processing for nitriding an oxide film for agate electrode of a DRAM, a surface of the oxide film could be nitridedby supplying nitrogen (N₂) gas, ammonia (NH₃) gas or nitrogen monoxide(N₂O) to a gas supplying pipe, and by heating a processing chamber to atemperature in a range from a room temperature to 750° C. A surface of asilicon wafer before a silicon germanium (SiGe) film was formed wasprocessed by plasma using active particles of hydrogen (H₂) gas, anatural oxide film could be eliminated, and a desired SiGe film could beformed. When a nitrogen film was formed at a low temperature, if ALD(atomic layer deposition atomic layer film forming) in which DCS(dichlorosilane) and NH₃ (ammonia) were alternately supplied to form Si(silicon) and N (nitrogen) were formed one each, a high quality nitrogenfilm could be obtained by activating NH₃ with plasma and supplying thesame when NH₃ was supplied.

[0103] Although a wafer was processed in the above embodiment, a subjectto be processed may be a photomask, a printed wiring substrate, a liquidcrystal panel, a compact disk, a magnetic disk or the like.

[0104] The entire disclosures of Japanese Patent Application No.2001-3703 filed on Jan. 11, 2001, Japanese Patent Application No.2002-3615 filed on Jan. 10, 2002 and Japanese Patent Application No.2002-203397 filed on Jul. 12, 2002 including specifications, claims,drawings and abstracts are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

[0105] Although various exemplary embodiments have been shown anddescribed, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown.Therefore, the scope of the invention is intended to be limited solelyby the scope of the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plasma processing apparatus, comprising: aprocessing chamber in which a plurality of substrates are stacked andaccommodated, a pair of electrodes extending in the stacking directionof said plurality of substrates, said electrodes being disposed at oneside of said plurality of substrates in said processing chamber, andhigh frequency electricity being applied to said electrodes, and a gassupply member which supplies processing gas into a space between saidpair of electrodes.
 2. A plasma processing apparatus as recited in claim1, wherein said pair of electrodes are respectively covered withprotecting members.
 3. A plasma processing apparatus as recited in claim1, wherein an electrical discharging chamber is formed at the one sideof said plurality of stacked substrates in said processing chamber suchthat said electrical discharging chamber is partitioned from saidprocessing chamber such as to include said pair of electrodes, and a gasblowout opening is provided in said electrical discharging chamber forsupplying the processing gas into said processing chamber.
 4. A plasmaprocessing apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein said gas blowoutopening is located between said pair of electrodes.
 5. A plasmaprocessing apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said pair ofelectrodes are rod-like electrodes extending in a direction in whichsaid plurality of stacked substrates are stacked.
 6. A plasma processingapparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising: a substrate holdingtool which holds said plurality of stacked substrates, and a substrateholding tool rotating driving apparatus which rotates said substrateholding tool.
 7. A plasma processing apparatus as recited in claim 1,wherein an electrical discharging chamber which is independent from saidprocessing chamber is formed between said pair of electrodes, and a gasblowout opening which supplies the processing gas into said processingchamber is provided in said electrical discharging chamber.
 8. A plasmaprocessing apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a gas supplying pipeis disposed between said pair of electrodes, and said gas supplying pipeis provided with a gas blowout opening which supplies processing gasinto said processing chamber.
 9. A plasma processing apparatus,comprising: a processing chamber in which a plurality of substrates arestacked and accommodated, a pair of electrodes which is disposed insideand outside of said processing chamber such as to be opposed to eachother at one side of said plurality of substrates, and to which highfrequency electricity is applied, and a gas supplying pipe whichsupplies processing gas into the processing chamber to a place which isaway from the space between said pair of electrodes.